ARCHIVED ARTICLES
Week of August 27, 2010
Broward schools debate Zero Tolerance policy, The Miami Herald
Broward County, Florida is engaged in a debate about trying to cut back on arrests under the zero tolerance policy. Despite the new law passed last year that was intended to cut down on arrests for minor infractions, there were actually 161 more referrals for misdemeanor charges.
Greenwich schools get jump start on in-school suspension law, GreenwichTime.com
Greenwich, CT got a head start on the new suspension law in the state – and so doesn’t have to scramble now.
Re-examining discipline, The Daily Journal
A story from the Bay Area in California about a program aimed at guiding expelled students back into school. It looks a lot like restorative practices. Moreover, it was created by a law enforcement officer who was tired of watching kids get punished for their mistakes.
Bars To Education: Transition Programs Key To Ending Jail Cycle, Advocates Say, NY1.com
Also in New York, a report on efforts to prepare incarcerated youth for reentry so that they don’t wind up right back at Rikers.
Bars To Education: Reforms Try To Bring Jail Schools Under Firmer City Control, NY1.com
New York is struggling with the task of educating incarcerated youth.
Toledo Public Schools to enforce district-wide dress code, ToledoOnTheMove.com
Toledo, OH goes from a school uniform policy to a dress-code.
Tazewell County ready to welcome back students, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Tazewell County, VA expands its school discipline policy to all county middle schools; the policy emphasizes a preventative and proactive approach to reduce the number of office referrals.
Report: U.S. K-12 Schools Failing To Educate Black Males, Diverse
Article on the recent report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education, which finds that American public schools have failed to educate Black males, pushing many out of school and into prison.
Duval School Board candidates aware of district’s challenges, The Florida Times-Union
School discipline has become an important issue in the Duval County, FL School Board election.
Opinions/Editorials
Changing the Status Quo in Our Schools, The Huffington Post
Marian Wright Edelman, President of the Children’s Defense Fund, argues that a quality education is the best deterrent to the school-to-prison pipeline. Without it, students will be pushed to dropout and incarceration becomes more likely.
Week of August 20, 2010
Study: Better Schools Have Fewer Discipline Problems, Times Record Online
A study in Arkansas reaches the (unsurprising) conclusion that schools with the best academic records have the fewest disciplinary referrals. A big part of that connection has to do with creating a positive and supportive culture for youth.
NAACP Claims Black Males Targeted By Metro Schools, NewsChannel5.com
In Nashville, Tennessee, the NAACP is highlighting a new report that shows drastic racial disparities in discipline – primarily targeting black males. The NAACP proposes to conduct a review of the distrct’s zero tolerance policies and propose reforms that focus on supportive and positive school climate and classroom management.
Under scrutiny, Wake County schools rethink long-term suspensions, IndyWeek.com
The Indy – an independent paper in the Triangle area of North Carolina – has an excellent article on discipline reforms in Wake County. The story presents some data, and lots of personal narrative. Jason Langberg of Advocates for Children’s services is heavily quoted throughout the article.
Duval School Board candidates aware of district’s challenges, The Florida Times-Union
A school-board candidate in Duvall County Florida takes issue with the district’s (good) policy of holding school administrators accountable for their school’s discipline data.
Kicked out of class, but not out of school, ctpost.com
An article from Connecticut on the impending implementation of the state law that is aimed at drastically cutting back on out of school suspensions in favor of in-school suspensions. There are predictable complaints about the cost, difficulty, and wisdom of the law, but it appears that districts are actually taking steps to prepare and comply.
Bars To Education: Incarcerated Youth Already Saddles With School Problems, NY1.com
An important story from NY1 tracing the school to prison pipeline in New York City. The story points out that many of the youth who have wound up at Rikers Island (the city jail) were facing problems in school before they got there. Now, incarcerated, they face a disorganized, violent, and ineffective educational system there too.
Bars To Education: Island Education Academy Struggles To Find Identity, NY1.com
And a related story about the inadequate education system on Rikers.
Special Education Students Discipline Twice As Often, The Texas Tribune
An important story from Texas documenting the alarming disparities in school discipline for students with disabilities. The story highlights a growing movement across the state towards less punitive and more positive discipline strategies.
A history of violence in schools, and remedies to stop it, Boston Globe
Professor Kupchick’s recent book challenging zero tolerance and the philosophy behind it gets a favorable review by a big national paper – the Boston Globe.
Phila. Public Schools Have New Chief of Security, KYW News Radio
Philly hires a new chief of school security.
Wake schools ease ‘zero tolerance,’ NewsObserver.com
Very good news out of Wake County, NC where the work of Advocates for Children is paying immediate dividends. The board has agreed to take steps to scale back on harsh school discipline, including shortening the length of long-term suspensions and, looking forward, scaling back on the offenses that can be punished most harshly. Not perfect, but very encouraging first steps.
The Flawless Foundation: Portland Nonprofit Sees the Perfection in Every Child, neighborhood notes
A story about a nonprofit group of special education teachers looking to turn special education around to protect special education students from the school-to-prison pipeline.
School official hits nerve with spank talk, Boston Herald
A soon-to-be assistant principal is roundly criticized for saying it is critical to spank kids from the moment they crawl.
Opinions/Editorials
Sub ‘zero,’ NewsObserver.com
In North Carolina, the News and Observer has an editorial praising Wake County for relaxing its zero tolerance policy.
Week of August 13, 2010
Pinellas adopts a new strategy for dealing with misbehavior, St. Petersburg Times
Mixed reports from Pinellas County, FL where suspensions across the district were down, but the racial disparities remain stark.
New Web System Tracks Test Results, Discipline, and Dropouts, Education Weel
West Virginia is rolling out a new online data collection system that will track discipline.
School District cancels contract with company that ran alternative programs, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia is cancelling its contract with the for-profit company that it used to run alternative and disciplinary schools.
School official hits nerve with spank tank, Boston Herald
On Cape Cod, a newly hired assistant principal is under fire because he was preaching the benefits of spanking.
Pasco County’s overall FCAT score drops to a B, St. Petersburg Times
Amid dropping scores across Pasco County in Florida, one school, Sunray, saw scores rise. Administrators there are partly attributing the rise to new discipline policies which seek to foster trust and positive relationships in the classroom and which have led to a drop in suspensions and referrals.
SUNY: Cortland: News Detail
A conference at SUNY Cortland in New York is focusing on discipline and bullying issues.
How to get around the cell phone ban at Automotive High School, Gotham Schools
A video of youth at Automotive High School in NYC explaining how to get around the cell phone ban there.
Education Remains Underlying Theme at Urban League’s 100th Anniversary, Washington Informer
The Urban League emphasizes its continued commitment to ending the cradle to prison pipeline, citing the alarming fact that there are more Black men in jail than in college.
Election 2010: School Board District 5, Michael Bullard, News Chief
A Polk County, MD school board candidate is running on the platform of increasing school discipline as a remedy for low grades and graduation rates.
20 law professors back ACLU in suit, The Providence Journal
Law professors support the ACLU in Rhode Island where an effort is underway to bar lawyers from a truancy case because the lawyers made critical comments about the policy.
ACLU helps ready teens for school, KXAN.com
A Texas ACLU conference focuses on the school-to-prison pipeline.
ACLU Says Texas Teens Being Sent To Debtors’ Prison, Houston Press
More reporting on the ACLU’s suit in Hidalgo County, Texas. The ACLU is alleging that youth are being sent to “debtor’s prison” for failure to pay exorbitant truancy tickets.
Opinions/Editorials
Law shields teachers in discipline suits, The Journal Gazette
An article from Indiana discussing the new law that grants teachers immunity from being sued over school discipline so long as the actions that they took were reasonably within the school policy.
Teacher Confidential: Expulsion All Too Rare in Schools, The Ledger
Another misguided story advocating harsher discipline to weed out the “bad apples.” This time from Polk County, FL.
Education as opportunity, The Madison Times
Great op-ed emphasizes the importance of equal educational opportunities, and how zero tolerance policies work to reinforce racial inequalities.
A teacher’s worth, NewsObserver.com
Opinion piece links the failure of high-poverty schools in attracting and retaining experienced, quality teachers with the school-to-prison pipeline.
Week of August 6, 2010
ACLU Sues Hidalgo for Jailing Teens Over Unpaid Tickets, The Texas Tribune
County Sued Over ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline,’ Courthouse News Service
Texas ‘school-to-prison pipeline,’ p2pnet
More coverage on the Texas school district that was sued for sending kids to jail for being unable to pay fines for skipping class. If skipping class is the problem, sending kids to jail is most definitely not the solution.
To paddle or not to paddle students, CNN
CNN examines efforts to pass a federal law that would abolish corporal punishment.
Wake hears discipline ideas, The Cary News
More reporting on the Wake County, NC school board’s warm reception of Advocates for Children report and recommendations on school discipline.
Lansing teachers win right to sue over students’ discipline, Detroit Free Press
Teachers in Michigan have won the right sue the district for not disciplining students harshly enough for assaults.
Sagging pants, regular book bags out at West Bladen, WECT TV6
In yet another ill-advised “crackdown,” Bladen county in North Carolina is instituting a “zero tolerance” policy for saggy pants. This kind of rule not only has a disparate impact on youth of color, but also institutionalizes certain (and often oppressive) norms about what is “appropriate.” Too often those norms are hostile to low income youth of color.
ACLU of Texas recruiting students to lobby for students’ rights, News 8 Austin
On the heels of its suit in Hidalgo, TX, the ACLU of Texas is looking for youth to help in its zero tolerance work.
Wake schools hear ideas on discipline, NewsObserver.com
Advocates for Children’s Services in North Carolina has presented an excellent analysis and set of recommendations to Wake County with the goal of reforming the county’s zero tolerance policy and reducing suspensions and expulsions. The presentation seemed to get a warm welcome from the school board.
Over 80,000 suspensions for violence at school, The Christian Institute
More than 80,000 students were suspended last year in the U.K.
Elementary Schools Tighten Discipline Policy to Comply With New Anti-Bullying Law, MelrosePatch
Elementary schools in a MA school district are adopting middle school discipline policies to comply with the state’s new anti-bullying law, which will probably increase suspensions and expulsion significantly.
Schools Crack Down on Cyberbullying, NBC Chicago
Studies suggest that students who bully other students increase their chances of school failure, so Chicago Public Schools are, perversely, increasing punishment for cyberbullies. Such punishment may include mandatory reporting to police. How is this supposed to prevent bullies from dropping out of school?
RULH discusses discipline issues at school buildings, newsdemocrat.com
Another article highlighting the benefits and successes of Positive Behavior Support policies.
HISD OKs new code of conduct, The Huntsville Item
A Texas school district elicited comments from students and parents on its new code of conduct.
Opinions/Editorials
New analysis blasts Obama’s school turnaround policy – and tells how to fix it, Washington Post
Community-based groups criticize the Obama administration’s school turnaround policies and suggest some of their own, including a positive behavioral approach to discipline.
Graduation rates are dismal, San Diego Adult Education Examiner
Misguided editorial that suggest increasingly punishing students will improve graduation rates.
Archived Articles - April 2010
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Archived Articles - February 2010
